Red Square Cafe — Restaurant in Hobart

Visited here twice this week, once to catch up with friends from interstate awaiting their flight & the other with a local friend for lunch 😊 Enjoyed both visits, friendly staff & reasonable cafe style lunch was provided. Friends liked their Halloumi Cheese Sticks & wedges with sour cream & sweet chilli 👍🏼 however to be honest my big breakfast left me disappointed. It was big enough but underwhelming sadly, taste wise. My poached eggs were overdone after asking specifically for soft yolks 😔 Could have done with being served hotter & some added baked beans wouldn't have gone astray, as it was all quite dry (except my toast as it was sadly soggy from water from my poached eggs I would say...) I was bummed as my half tomato was under ripe, so unfortunately tasteless...plus it was barely cooked & served cold along with the mushrooms. The little sausages (usually my least favourite) were a winner taste wise, so great job guys! 👍🏼😎 Don't change them 😉😁 and it was priced well at $18. Next visit I tried the pork belly on an Asian style crunchy salad (which was much tastier 😋) but unfortunately the pork belly wasn't crisp & juicy as one would expect. It was served in very thin strips (not cubed as normal) which sadly left it dried out & tough as old boots. My poor knife struggled to do its job & cut through it! 😲😔 Salad was good & dressing was yummy 😊👍🏼 so onto a winner there if they can improve the pork belly, which should be the star of the dish 🤔 Perhaps try cubing it & cooking it until the fat caramelises & crisps, (yummy!) then reduce the temp & cook until inside is tender. Instead of baking it until it turns into a little 'brick' like strip, that could do a bit of damage if thrown 😁 lol! 😉 It would also be great if there was a Zero sugar soft drink available other than Pepsi too pretty please...? Something like sugar free Sunkist, lemon squash or lemonade would go down well I believe 😊 Anyways, all in all it was a pleasant cafe experience that could end up being something you rave about IF a little bit more care was shown to the cooking of the pork belly & some juicy, ripe tomatoes were bought so the cook cook could serve them cooked well & hot, alongside the 'mushies' on the Big Brekkie...

Entered on a weekend for a drink and meal. After waiting a number of minutes, someone came over and took us to a table that was dirty. Another worker came over and quickly gave it a wipe, wiping everything towards to floor and chairs. Placing everything on the chair while they wiped. Sat, ordered, after being pushed into ordering a couple of times. Ordered when we were ready. Drink was okay, not worth the $9 though.

No sign of surcharges for that day, nothing mentioned, however we were hit with one. On the receipt it states surcharge, however,it doesn't state what it's for. I couldn't see any signs on the door or menu.

I posted on here before, the manager reached out and emailed me a picture of a tiny sign that they have, very little information on the sign, doesn't state days the surcharge applies, but it had percentages and cards.

But the worst part is, the owner pleaded and insisted I take the review down, so I did, only so I could address the fact they sent me this extensive email going on and on a out how he hires family members, doesn't want to accept card charges so gives them to customers. He didnt seem to care that it's clearly not disclosed prior to making a booking or making an order and it's only a tiny sign that hides at the counter.

This post is a lot smaller than the long winded dribble he sent, going on and on, I just gave up reading it.

Not only was the experience there poor, his attempts to discuss the issue was very self centred from what I read. Really disappointing. Poor communication, poor management, poor signage, poor disclosure.

Take this as a hit to improve on the small things, most won't come at much of a cost, but it will make you a...

Not sure what has happened but it has definitely slipped. Perhaps it has something to do with the new premises opening at Glenorchy and all the good staff are that that store?

After being seated and a significant amount of time passing without a staff member even approaching us to take a coffee order, we had to go to the counter ourselves.

I enquired if it was table service as in the past it always was, and I was told yes but you can order here. I made it clear I was not impressed ... why should I have to go to the counter to be served when it's table service?

The table next to us also had to do the same only the staff member asked them to go back to the table and they would come and take their order.

Staff are clearly disinterested in serving customers and barely crack a smile, why be in customer service if you don't want to be serving customers?!

When our food arrived it was average and hot drinks are served lukewarm. There are numerous reviews on social media noting similar and worse experiences ... apparently the chef gets stressed??!!

Its a real shame as this used to be our go to local brunch cafe with consistently good food and drink.

Fortunately there are now plenty of other options to choose from on the eastern shore where I'm sure the chef can 'handle the heat in...